Watch the NAB Debut of ProRes RAW with Atomos on the Faster Together Stage

The week before NAB 2018, Apple announced a new version of Final Cut Pro X with support for closed captions, and the brand new ProRes RAW codec. In the announcement, Atomos and DJI were listed as the first two companies to support capture of the ProRes RAW codec. In the first of the video presentations from the Faster Together stage at NAB, Jeromy Young debuts ProRes RAW.

Atomos plastered signs all over NAB announcing the integration of ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ in their SHOGUN INFERNO & SUMO19 on-set recorders. This, of course, is limited to cameras that can send a RAW sensor feed via 12G SDI. This is currently supported on Panasonic, Canon and Sony cameras.

Jeromy Young, founder of Atomos, presented on ProRes RAW at the LumaForge Faster, Together Stage in the South Hall on Monday of NAB. In his presentation, he discussed Atomos’ collaboration with Apple and the benefits of ProRes RAW.

The new ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ are variable data rate codecs that prioritize quality over a target data rate. However, most uses of both codecs are still more efficient than ProRes 4444. Unlike other versions of ProRes, the de-bayering of sensor data happens in the editing software during playback of ProRes RAW.

Final Cut Pro X transforms the RAW data from Linear to Log before normalizing with a Rec. 709 or HDR LUT. This gives further control over the color pipeline to editors. Because Final Cut Pro X has full access to the RAW sensor data, much more latitude is available for ProRes RAW captures clips than traditional ProRes footage.

To learn more about ProRes RAW, go to Atomos or Apple's White Paper (Which is a must-read for anybody who shoots and edits high quality footage)

Patrick taught FCPX as a Trainer at an Apple Store in Tulsa, Oklahoma when it came out in 2011. He in now an Editor and Assistant Editor in Los Angeles and is Chief Workflow Officer at LumaForge.